Since
St. Thomas Aquinas can be difficult to follow, his discussion of the
Lord’s prayer will be slightly modified from the way it is
presented by the Saint in his Summa
Theologica.
Matthew
6: 9-13;
Thus therefore shall you pray: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed
be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in
heaven. Give us this day our supersubstantial bread. And forgive us
our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. And lead us not into
temptation. But deliver us from evil. Amen.
Luke
11: 2-4;
And he said to them: When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be thy
name. Thy kingdom come. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive
us our sins, for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us.
And lead us not into temptation.
Part
One.
Whether
the seven petitions of the Lord's Prayer are fittingly assigned?
I
answer that, The authority of Christ, who composed this prayer,
suffices.
The
Lord’s Prayer is most perfect, because, as Augustine says "if
we pray rightly and fittingly, we can say nothing else but what is
contained in this prayer of our Lord." For since prayer
interprets our desires, as it were, before God, then alone is it
right to ask for something in our prayers when it is right that we
should desire it. Now in the Lord’s Prayer not only do we ask for
all that we may rightly desire, but also in the order wherein we
ought to desire them, so that this prayer not only teaches us to ask,
but also directs all our affections.
The first two petitions: "Hallowed be Thy name" and "Thy kingdom come."
Thus
it is evident that the first thing to be the object of our desire is
the end, and afterwards whatever is directed to the end. Now our end
is God towards Whom our affections tend in two ways: first, by our
willing the glory of God, secondly, by willing to enjoy His glory.
The first belongs to the love whereby we love God in Himself, while
the second belongs to the love whereby we love ourselves in God.
Wherefore the first petition is expressed thus: "Hallowed be Thy
name," and the second thus: "Thy kingdom come," by
which we ask to come to the glory of His kingdom.
Petitions three and four: "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven" and "Give us this day our daily bread."
To
this same end a thing directs us in two ways: in one way, by its very
nature, in another way, accidentally. Of its very nature the good
which is useful for an end directs us to that end. Now a thing is
useful in two ways to that end which is beatitude: in one way,
directly and principally, according to the merit whereby we merit
beatitude by obeying God, and in this respect we ask: "Thy will
be done on earth as it is in heaven"; in another way
instrumentally, and as it were helping us to merit, and in this
respect we say: "Give us this day our daily bread," whether
we understand this of the sacramental Bread, the daily use of which
is profitable to man, and in which all the other sacraments are
contained, or of the bread of the body, so that it denotes all
sufficiency of food, as Augustine says, since the Eucharist is the
chief sacrament, and bread is the chief food: thus in the Gospel of
Matthew we read, "supersubstantial," i.e. "principal,"
as Jerome expounds it.
Petitions five, six and seven: "Forgive us our trespasses." and "And lead us not into temptation," and "Deliver us from evil."
We
are directed to beatitude accidentally by the removal of obstacles.
Now there are three obstacles to our attainment of beatitude. First,
there is sin, which directly excludes a man from the kingdom,
according to 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, "Neither fornicators, nor
idolaters, etc., shall possess the kingdom of God; and to this refer
the words, "Forgive us our trespasses." Secondly, there is
temptation which hinders us from keeping God’s will, and to this we
refer when we say: "And lead us not into temptation,"
whereby we do not ask not to be tempted, but not to be conquered by
temptation, which is to be led into temptation. Thirdly, there is the
present penal state which is a kind of obstacle to a sufficiency of
life, and to this we refer in the words, "Deliver us from evil."
Part
Two.
Objection
1. It would seem that the seven petitions of the Lord’s
Prayer are
not fittingly assigned. It is useless to ask for that to be hallowed
which is always holy.
But the name of God
is
always holy,
according to Luke
1:49,
"Holy is His name." Again, His kingdom is everlasting,
according to Psalm
144:13,
"Thy kingdom is a kingdom of all ages." Again, God’s
will
is always fulfilled, according to Isaiah
46:10,
"All My will shall be done." Therefore it is useless to ask
for "the name of God
to be hallowed," for "His kingdom to come," and for
"His will
to be done."
Reply
to Objection 1. As Augustine
says
(De Serm. Dom. in Monte ii, 5), when
we say, "Hallowed be Thy name, we do not mean that God’s
name
is not holy,
but we ask that men may treat it as a holy
thing," and this pertains to the diffusion of God’s
glory
among men. When we say, "Thy kingdom come, we do not imply that
God
is
not reigning now," but "we excite in ourselves the desire
for that kingdom, that it may come to us, and that we may reign
therein," as Augustine
says (ad Probam, Ep. cxxx, 11). The words, "Thy will be done
rightly signify, 'May Thy commandments be obeyed' on earth as in
heaven,
i.e. by men
as well as by angels"
(De Serm. Dom. in Monte ii, 6). Hence these three petitions will be
perfectly fulfilled in the life to come; while the other four,
according to Augustine
(Enchiridion cxv), belong to the needs of the present life.
Objection
2. Further, one must withdraw from evil
before attaining good.
Therefore it seems unfitting for the petitions relating to the
attainment of good
to be set forth before those relating to the removal of evil.
Reply
to Objection 2. Since prayer
is the interpreter of desire, the order of the petitions corresponds
with the order, not of execution, but of desire or intention,
where the end precedes the things that are directed to the end, and
attainment of good
precedes removal of evil.
Objection
3. Further, one asks for a thing that it may be given to one. Now the
chief gift
of God
is the Holy
Ghost,
and those gifts
that we receive through Him. Therefore the petitions seem to be
unfittingly assigned, since they do not correspond to the gifts
of the Holy
Ghost.
Reply
to Objection 3. Augustine
(De Serm. Dom. in Monte ii, 11) adapts the seven petitions to the
gifts
and beatitudes.
He says: "If it is fear God
whereby blessed are the poor in spirit, let us ask that God’s
name be hallowed among men with a chaste fear. If it is piety whereby
blessed are the meek, let us ask that His kingdom may come, so that
we become meek and no longer resist Him. If it is knowledge
whereby blessed are they that mourn, let us pray
that His will
be done, for thus we shall mourn no more. If it is fortitude
whereby blessed ere they that hunger, let us pray
that our daily bread be given to us. If it is counsel whereby blessed
are the merciful, let us forgive the trespasses of others that our
own may be forgiven. If it is understanding whereby blessed are the
pure in heart, let us pray
lest
we have a double heart by seeking after worldly things which are the
occasion of our temptations.
If it is wisdom whereby blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be
called the children of God,
let us pray
to be delivered from evil:
for if we be delivered we shall by that very fact become the free
children of God."
Objection
4. Further, according to Luke, only five petitions are mentioned in
the Lord’s
Prayer,
as appears from the eleventh
chapter.
Therefore it was superfluous for Matthew to mention seven.
Luke
11: 2-4; And he said to them: When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be
thy name. Thy kingdom come. Give
us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we also
forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into
temptation.
Reply
to Objection 4. According to Augustine
(Enchiridion cxvi), "Luke included not seven but five petitions
in the Lord’s
Prayer,
for by omitting it, he shows that the third petition is a kind of
repetition of the two that precede, and thus helps us to understand
it"; because, to wit, the will
of God
tends chiefly to this—that we come to the knowledge
of His holiness
and to reign together with Him. Again the last petition mentioned by
Matthew, "Deliver us from evil,"
is omitted by Luke, so that each one may know
himself to be delivered from evil
if he be not led into temptation.
Objection
5. Further, it seems useless to seek to win the benevolence of one
who forestalls us by his benevolence. Now God
forestalls
us by His benevolence, since "He first hath loved us" (1
John 4:19).
Therefore it is useless to preface the petitions with the words our
"Father Who art in heaven,"
which seem to indicate a desire to win God’s
benevolence.
Reply
to Objection 5. Prayer
is offered up to God,
not that we may bend Him, but that we may excite in ourselves the
confidence to ask: which confidence is excited in us chiefly by the
consideration of His charity
in our regard, whereby he wills our good—wherefore
we say: "Our Father"; and of His excellence, whereby He is
able to fulfil it—wherefore we say: "Who art in heaven."
Source:
https://www.newadvent.org/summa/3083.htm#article9
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